Imaginif...the spirit of Christmas lasted.

Cairns Bloggers, welcome back to Blog On Cairns. Bloggers who have not updated their sites since last weeks Carnival are not included in this post. Many thanks to those dedicated few who have harnessed the power, marketing and reach of the blogosphere.

Andrew Griffiths: Andrew is one of the Ambassadors for ACT for Kids (the renamed Abused Child Trust). At the launch of Child Protection Week, ACT for Kids held a supporters lunch in Brisbane where Andrew was a guest speaker. Andrew says:

ACT for Kids is an organisation with one aim – to rid Australia of child abuse, in any form.

I’m right behind you Andrew. Many people in Cairns say no to child abuse. Can Cairns can it though?  Together we are making an impact and changing culture to one of zero tolerance against childhood violence.

Birdwing Therapies: Keran is hosting a Strengths Based training in Cairns on Tuesday and Wednesday this coming week. The training is FULLY booked.

The Strengths Based training with St Luke’s Innovative Resources (Bendigo, Victoria) at Imaginif in Cairns is booked out. Thank you for the fantastic response! We are all working hard to get the last details in place (we are talking catering of course!).We are looking forward to a sensational two days training with a fantastic group of local practitioners……

Cairns Blog.net: Michael Moore stands At the edge of the Cliff. In a beginning account of the Australian Federal Parliament’s introduction of a bill to remove discrimination against same-sex partners (I support this bill – stop ALL discrimination), Michael peeks into the bedroom of Cliff Richard. Cliff, sick to death of public innuendo, admits that he is in a long term live in companionship with a man – an ex Roman Catholic priest.

Cairns Unlimited: Steve and Maria are loving that Summer is back in the Tropical North. Breaking from their usual winter routine of drinking the first coffee at their computers, they threw winter out with the recycling and headed straight for the beach. Gotta love Cairns and our fantastic climate and lifestyle.

Have camera will travel: Documentary photography aims to create pictures where the people in them are acting naturally. However, when Being a fly on the wall, etiquette must be observed. Paul suggests a number of ways to both get natural looking shots and not upset people when they notice that you are snapping them. Who wants to be hit with a fly swat? Not me!

Imaginif Child Protection became Serious Business: Consider this your personal invitation to a private protest against sexual violence toward women and children – Teddies Reclaim the Night. On Friday, October 31st (Halloween), the annual and international Reclaim the Night rally will take place on Megan’s upstairs front verandah. With huge exposure to peak hour traffic, I hope you will join us to say no to violence against women and children. Gold coin entry, byo picnic tea, teddies and candels on sale.

Knowledge Solutions: Digital text can do better and blogs increase business bottom line! There’s a FANTASTIC video clip in Luke’s Is Web 2.0 still in a phase of Proliferation and I encourage you all to watch it. Web 2.0 makes use of digital networking, easy linking and borderless business premises. WEb 2,0 is the difference between a brochure and a conversation. WEb 2.0 platforms are business and blogs are just one tool of that business. If you are not embracing all that Blogs can offer your business then you need to rethink your marketing plan. Digital does it better!

Nicky Jurd: A word from Nicky – Is that all one word? Welcome back to blogging Nicky. I missed you…or should I say, imissedyou.com.au?

nunyaa: I made a joke recently about Nunyaa, the Flying Nun from Flying Fish Point. Well bugger me dead – guess what she has posted about this week! Flying Fish Point. Reminiscing about Damper, fishing, sand flies and barra, I’m with Nunyaa, the Johnston River crocodiles scare the life out of me and keep us both on the shore!!!!

Psych Matters: Char leaves us with some words of wisdom around Problem solving

We can look at exactly the same thing and yet divide it up in many different ways. Perception decides how we structure the world around us. Edward de Bono (1996)

Teddy Tour: Used to the effects of child sexual abuse (I am a therapist), I am always moved by the powerful words of survivors. In Why did you send me to stay with him, Forgotten ponders on her changed attachment to her carer

He abused me. I know he abused you too. Why did you send me to stay with him?  These are the truths unspoken between us, this is the question I have never asked you.  These are the words that lie in the silences between words, so that when we talk, we do not talk.  So do not ask me why I am so distant.

That’s it for this week folks. There hasn’t been a great deal of blog updating but thanks to those who do keep their blogs interestingly active. Don’t forget to get your posts in for next weekends Blog On Cairns carnival. Submit here.

Please visit each other and get to know who blogs about what in Cairns. Let me know of other bloggers I can add to the Cairns list. Link to each other, link to this carnival. Linking raises indexing and increases circulation remember what Luke showed us in his video – Digital is better).

Would anyone like to host this carnival one weekend…you will be amazed at how many hits you get as people check their trackbacks and key search terms bring new visitors.

Leave me a comment to let me know what you think about having the Cairns bloggers posts highlighted in a single place. Leave a comment for your neighbour bloggers too. Just as a Fly on a wall has etiquette, so too do bloggers. Lurking and stalking without comments is not a way to make new friends and encourage repeat visits.

Welcome to the end of winter inaugural, stand alone, Blog On Cairns. This carnival is open only to Cairns bloggers and I expect to see it grow, grow, grow up a monsoon as your family, friends and colleagues become inoculated against the threat of a life without blogging

Until people start submitting their own posts, posts will appear alphabetically.  And so we away….

• Andrew Griffiths: Join Andrew over at his now redesigned blog and web spot. Colourful and bold (the blog, not Andrew), his posts reveal the international gateway that Cairns offers. Whether, home, interstate or abroad, Andrew’s post are always interesting and worth the time to read. In Stop beating yourself up when you make a mistake, Andrew places a monetary value on learning from mistakes, rather than staying in a deficit mood where we beat ourselves up. An interesting and solution oriented slant I can confidently say that I have spent a fortune on my education!

• Association of Australian Assistance Dogs (NQ): Those long time Cairns residents will probably all know who renown, international Entomologist, Ross Storey is. Ross and his wife have lived in Mareeba for ever. Rest in peace Ross: Ross Storey – Founding Member of ASDOGS(NQ) has sadly passed away

• Balloon with Hot Air: Has not posted since December of 2007. I may as well delete them from the list?????

• Berry Baby: I recently bought a part time package of these amazing and environmentally friendly nappies for my new grand baby (yes, I am a six week old Grandma ).

• Big Little Sister: Oh no. Melody and her little family have finally provided an Answer to Melody’s many hints of the recent past. They are leaving paradise to go to the capital of the Emirates, Abu Dhabi, the richest city in the world. Melody I look forward to keeping up with your adventures through your blog.

• Birdwing Therapies: Are the kids doing your head in? Guess what? Tantrums are normal for Toddlers. Both a colleague and a personal friend, Keran was lulled into blogging as a platform for advertising and marketing by, moi. Now a true convert, Keran blogs around the issues she deals with in therapy.

• Cairns Action for Sustainable Transport: CAST. CAST uses their blog as a communication tool. Cheaper than phone calls, less wasteful than paper posters that often go unnoticed, a blog is a way to communicate with those interested in a particular issue. Hence, they let us know the New Dates and Venue for CAST Meetings.

• Cairns Blog.net: What’s your view on saving the Yacht Club building? Mike, from Cairns Blog is always one to ensure the voice of Cairns people is heard, particularly around civic issues. In Garrett wants new information to save Yachtie, Mike gives the labour politicians some of the new information they seek:
  – how about another 10,000 locals that have said they want to keep this piece of our community history where it is;
  - another highrise, that only for those who can afford a million-dollar apartment, is not welcome in Cairns;
  - that such a small parcel of land can and should be gifted to the community for the people, would be a gracious move by the Government;
  - that it is, and has been for over 100 years, a famous music and entertainment venue serving two World Wars, countless local weddings and the creation of many local musos;
  - the will of the majority of the community is to retain this building and all that it represents as we change and grow our population; The Yachtie is on the register of the National Estate, the National Trust’s list of endangered places and its Queensland register.

• Cairns Unlimited: Do you all yet know of the Jump on – Jump off Cairns tourist bus? What a great idea. Has anyone done it yet? I aim to but just cannot seem to get a free afternoon where I can taste the new service (and of course then I will blog a review on it). Thanks for blogging this Stave and Maria. Your blog is a terrific service to Cairns and to tourism so please do keep it all up.

• Have camera will travel: When I grow up I want to be like Paul Dymond. I read his posts and try to emulate his techniques: Paul is brilliant….I am sad However, I owe Paul a big thank you. In Some more blogs for the weekend, Paul high lights some of his favourite photography blogs. Guess what I’ll be doing this afternoon. It seems a waste to me that we live in Paradise and do not take the opportunity to photograph it to use on our blogs. I reckon citizen photography is a great way to marked Cairns through the blogosphere.

• Jean Burman (artist): In The Olympics – Net Benefits, Jean reflects on the humanness, verses the win, win, win, tally focus of the Olympic games.

They have given insight into the immense human struggle to reach an individual’s top form. They have given courage and inspiration to those who witnessed that struggle against the odds. They have brought peace and co-operation between countries unheard of through diplomatic or political process. They have shown us how to win with courage… and how to lose with grace.

Ever eloquent, do yourself a favour and read Jean. Her writing is as moving as her paintings are. Jean, I reckon you should blog raffle one of your paintings as a blog traffic enticer. More people need to have the pleasure of reading you.
• Kaj Haffenden: Kaj has not posted since the beginning of June: How to create a strong password.

• Knowledge Solutions: It seems that Luke has been Linked Out prior to being Linked in again to active group management: Linkedin or more like Linkedout. Linked In is a social networking site for business people and corporate bloggers. A very useful tool for those seriously using Wed 2.0 applications, Luke’s frustration at some “uncollaborative” management changes resulted in being contacted and assured that:

our desire is definitely to enhance the functionality for LinkedIn Groups.

Good for you Luke. Thanks for taking up the challenge and keeping Web 2.0 fair. Luke is flirting with a blog platform change to a wordpress theme. Do it Luke: wordpress is fantastic. The options for customising your blog are endless.
• Nicky Jurd: Nicky has not posted since June 25: Mobile Generation

• nunyaa: The flying nun of the north. In Please Explain, Nunyaa reminds us of Pauline Hanson and lets us all know that Pauline is after a bloke. Any takers amongst you fine gents?

• Psych Matters: Char was recently involved in a Confidence Camp for kids from our area. This line in her post spoke to me:

Shine YOUR light on 3 positives of the last time something didn’t happen as you hoped it would.

A psychologist who uses her blog to educate and assist her online students, Char always has a myriad of topics for you to consume. Perhaps we should get Andrew Griffiths and Char to do a post together. In the two posts presented via them, they are saying a similar thing.

• Spasmodic Dysphonia: Sue has been overseas, moved house and had an exhibition in Atherton. Never home to change her internet details, Sue is promising to get back to blogging soon. She has not posted since April!

• Suspekt: How old do I feel?! Young Jesse contacted me through Digg recently. I went to add him to my facebook account and lo and behold, there is my son’s name in his friend’s list. It seems they went to school together. If you like music and going out in Cairns, then you need to follow Jesse’s blog.

• Teddy Tour: The virtual Teddy Tour gives victims of child abuse a world wide voice. No matter where they live, they can send in an anoynomous story tag to be photographed on a teddy before going on a tour around the blogosphere. Not only does Cairns have exceptionally high reported rates of sexual assault, we also have a lot of survivors move here because of all that Cairns offers: Solemn in Cairns. Where did my childhood go?

• Tropical Passions: Did anyone get to Cuisine & Country at the Cairns Regional Gallery? Kitchenslut not only does reviews on restaurants and cafes in Cairns, they also keep us aware of culinary happenings in our town.

That’s it from Blog On Cairns for this week. Be sure to submit your posts for next weekends Carnival (the quicker you submit, the higher up the list your post will be (= more chance of additional hits and readers). Please visit each other and get to know who blogs about what in Cairns. Let me know of other bloggers I can add to the Cairns list. Link to each other, link to this carnival. Linking raises indexing and increases circulation. Similarly, consider hosting this carnival one weekend…you may well be amazed at how many hits it gets! Leaving comments is also a simple customer service tool that you can all use as a way to grow relationships with potential new readers. Imagine your trip around the blogosphere as a real life networking function: talk to people and they talk back to you. Begin by leaving a comment here and posting about Blog On Cairns.

Happy last day of winter. See you along the Esplanade walk and at Festival Cairns.